Frankfurt, meanwhile, were turned over 6-1 by Bayer Leverkusen at the weekend, with all six goals conceded coming in the first half. Unlike Chelsea, their hold of fourth place in their respective league is hanging by a thread and their confidence may be shattered coming into this match.

Chelsea- Antonio Rudiger and Callum Hudson-Odoi are both long-term absentees for Chelsea. Maurizio Sarri has confirmed N’Golo Kante won’t play again this season unless Chelsea make the Europa League final. Bet Now on NaijaBet

With a top four finish secured, Mauzirio Sarri should go with his strongest available team on Thursday. It remains to be seen whether he will stick with Olivier Giroud, who is the competition’s top scorer, or go with regular first choice striker Gonzalo Higuain.

However, opponents Barcelona have already wrapped up the title and it saw Ernesto Valverde rest a number of first team regulars for the weekend loss at Celta Vigo. Prior to that loss, the Blaugrana were unbeaten in 11 away from home as they gun for European glory.

Lionel Messi has failed to score or assist in two previous encounters with Liverpool but the Argentine has 44 goals and 16 assists across league and European competition this season. Place bet on Live Match 24/7

Ajax come into this tie on the back of an eight-match unbeaten run, with the only blip on the record in that time coming in a 1-1 draw with Juventus. The Dutch powerhouse have lost only one of their last 15 matches and come into this clash in London on a four-match away winning run.

Ander Herrera has missed United’s last five matches but has returned to training and could be thrust into the starting XI in midweek.

Alexis Sanchez is also back from injury and could make his first start for United since the beginning of March. Juan Mata or Jesse Lingard should also come into the frame here. Place bet on Live Matches 24/7 on NaijaBet

Conversely, Tottenham have lost six of their last seven away matches, with their only win in that run coming at Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League. Spurs, to their credit, have won five of their last six Champions League matches, but have their work cut out if they are to secure a semi-final spot.

Manchester City- Pep Guardiola is without only Claudio Bravo for Wednesday’s welcome of Tottenham, with the Chilean goalkeeper still struggling for match fitness, though he wasn’t expected to start anyway, while Fernandinho will be assessed.

The Manchester City boss is expected to make a couple of changes from the first leg loss in north London for this must-win match. Live Bet on NaijaBet

Oleksandr Zinchenko is available following injury and could come in for Fabian Delph at left-back, while Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus are expected to start.

Manchester United have gone completely off the boil in recent weeks and were fortunate to beat West Ham on Saturday. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have lost their last three away matches in all competitions.

Manchester United- Manchester United can welcome back Paul Pogba from suspension in the Champions League and their injury woes have eased since they played Paris Saint-Germain last time in the competition.

Cardiff were beating Chelsea 1-0 up until the last six minutes of normal time before falling foul of a terrible piece of officiating and losing 2-1. That defeat could end up costing them their Premier League status.

Manchester City- Sergio Aguero came off as a precaution in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Fulham and will not be risked here. Gabriel Jesus would be his obvious replacement but Raheem Sterling could play through the middle.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer won his first match as permanent Manchester United manager but the Red Devils were fortunate to come away with a 2-1 victory at home to Watford on Saturday. United had as many attempts as Watford had on target (8).

Arsenal- Alexandre Lacazette’s suspension has been reduced and he is now available to face Rennes on Thursday, having missed the first leg. Sokratis is suspended, however, after being sent off against Rennes last week.

Lucas Torreira is currently in the middle of a domestic ban and has a good chance to start here, with Unai Emery set to shuffle his pack slightly. Bet Now on NaijaBet

Henrikh Mkhitaryan missed the 2-0 win over former club Manchester United at the weekend through injury and remains a doubt here.

The Bundesliga champions did record a thumping 6-0 win at the weekend and will be in confident mood, though Liverpool looked back on form in the attacking third themselves with a win over Burnley, so this promises to be an intriguing battle.

Bayern Munich- Joshua Kimmich received a third yellow card of the tournament in the first leg and joins Thomas Muller on the sidelines through suspension.

Rafinha will come in at right-back, while Serge Gnabry may switch flanks to that side to enable Franck Ribery to replace Muller from the 6-0 win over Wolfsbrug, with the Frenchman registering three assists from the bench at the weekend. Bet Now on NaijaBet

Arjen Robben could come back into contention following injury, though given Kimmich’s ban the more pressing need is to have David Alaba back available at left-back, with Rafinha having acted as cover in that position of late.

Lyon will be buoyed by the first leg result, but away from home, they have failed to win in three. That being said, a score draw would see the French side progress to the next round, so if they can nick an early goal, then they’ll be confident of securing a quarter-final spot.